The Gates of Hell
by burritolicious
Summary: A new prophesy has arisen. Wits will be tested. Limits will be pushed. Will this new generation of heroes have what it takes to save their best friend's life? Follow along with this action-packed test of true strength to find out.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, look what we have here! A chapter! Whoopee! It's a little shorter than I'd like it to be, but I really hope you guys like this! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1

The week started out normal enough for Freddie Knox. Well, as normal as it could get for a teenage demigod. He went through his daily training and classes (only skipping what he deemed invaluable) and finally made it to Friday without getting in major trouble (if you don't count painting the Ares cabin pink).

Camp wasn't boring, of course, but rather a routine to him now that he's been here for four years. He wished there was something that would break him out of this routine. _Oh, I know! A prank!_ He thought. _That's perfect! After capture the flag tonight, I'll play the perfect prank! _What he didn't realize, though, was that he would never get to complete this prank.

Freddie gently patted his messily spiked brown hair to see if it was still standing (luckily, it was), then made his way to the mess hall for dinner.

When he got there, everyone was in a hype. He couldn't blame them; pretty much everyone looked forward to capture the flag. The only reason why Freddie wasn't as big of a fan is that it involves teamwork and he'd rather work alone.

Freddie squeezed onto a bench at the Hermes table next to two of his sisters, Samantha and Maia.

"Hola, Fredricko!" Samantha called, her gray beanie tilting back on her head. She pushed it back down, a little annoyed.

"My name's Freddie," he told her for the millionth time (he was really getting tired of telling this to her). "And I'm British, not Spanish."

Sammy waved it away. "Yeah, yeah. Same difference."

* * *

Dinner ended fairly quickly, but that was expected. Time always seemed to fly when you're excited about something.

When the conch horn sounded, everyone stood up hastily. On one side of the pavilion, Taylor Watson and a couple of her siblings from the Athena cabin bolted in carrying a huge gray banner painted with an olive branch and an owl. This was odd behavior for Taylor, though. She usually kept to herself and hated being in the spotlight. Capture the flag was an exception, though (especially when they're up against the Ares cabin). Taylor brushed a strand of her curly red hair from her face as she stood the flag next to her.

On the other side of the dining hall, Herman Faletta and a few of his buddies raced in. Taylor loathed Herman (he liked to be called Faletta, but she didn't really care). She hated bullies (people always pushed her around at school for being a know-it-all), and Herman was no exception. He always acted like he was perfect; he even looked kind of perfect with his brown buzz cut, ripped muscles, and strong features.

A loud clack echoed around the hall, snapping everyone's attention to the front of the room.

"Heroes!" Chiron (yes, the centaur that taught Heracles, etc.) called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary. You can use the whole forest. The flag must be visible with at most two guards. All magical items are allowed. Absolutely no killing or maiming. I will be referee and medic. Arm yourselves!" He spread his arms and the tables were piled with equipment.

Taylor grabbed her armor and started to strap it to her slim body. Then she grabbed a helmet with a blue horsehair plume and a shield and headed off toward the south woods with the rest of the campers on her team.

* * *

As Freddie was walking to his position on the left flank, he went over the teams in his head. On the blue team, Athena had allied with the Hermes, Apollo, and Hephaestus cabins along with the Aphrodite cabin and some of the minor cabins.

The Ares cabin was working with Dionysus, Hecate, Demeter, Nemesis amongst others. Dionysus' kids were actually pretty athletic. The Hecate cabin has a way with spells and magical stuff so they'd be something to look out for. Demeter's cabin is pretty outdoorsy. The Nemesis kids were going to be a problem. They're tough and never to be messed with (unless you want your bed full of spiders).

He made it to his position as border patrol, alone. It was a hot, muggy summer night so Freddie was sweating by the time he made it there. The dimming light of the sunset shone through the thick foliage.

A long a way off, the conch horn blew. Freddie walked a little ways ahead until the creek was a few yards behind him. It was glistening golden in the light of the setting sun. Off to his right, he could hear the clanging of metal on metal.

All of a sudden, a couple of angry Ares campers, by the looks of them, charged out of the trees ahead of Freddie. Freddie stumbled backwards in surprise, clutching one of his daggers in each hand.

One of the campers sneered. "You're dead, Knox!"

The other one cheered. "Yeah! It took all day to repaint our cabin because of you!"

_Crap_, Freddie thought, _I totally forgot about that! They're going to kill me!_

The sons of Ares came at Freddie together, unlike all of those cheesy fight scenes in movies. They both brought their swords down on him at the same time. Freddie sidestepped one and its tip dug into the dirt. He caught the other with the hilt of his right dagger. Freddie's arm felt like it was being ripped out of its socket from the force of the blade on his knife. Freddie pushed out with his dagger and both weapons went flying.

"Gah!" The guy yelled. "You'll pay!"

Freddie smirked. "I'd like to see you try!"

Just then, out of nowhere, a sword slammed into Freddie's helmet, knocking it off. His mouth opened in shock as he spun a full 180 degrees and face planted in the dirt. Behind him, the two campers where laughing and yelling taunts. Freddie's mouth filled with dirt and leaves.

_Yuck_, he thought, _why on Earth did my mouth have to be open?_

Freddie pushed himself up on his hands and knees and tried to spit out whatever was in his mouth. He plucked half of a blue flower from his mouth and threw it on the ground, disgusted. He had no idea where the other half of the flower went, but he didn't really care.

The two Ares kids were still chuckling behind him. Freddie figured that he had the element of surprise on his side right now. He braced himself, then pushed up from the ground and spun in the air to face the campers. Not wasting a second, Freddie kicked the weaponless one in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground. Using his free hand, Freddie pinned the other kid's sword hand behind his back, making him drop the weapon and grunt in pain. He pushed the kid to the ground.

Freddie suddenly stumbled, black spots danced in his vision. The whole forest seemed to tilt and the trees seemed to sway to an unknown beat. He fell to his knees again, his head throbbing with an oncoming headache. He clutched his stomach and squeezed his eyes shut. Beads of sweat trickled down his neck like they were racing. He could hear footsteps fading away quickly.

Freddie vaguely wondered why two Ares kids (for crying out loud) were running away.

Now, Freddie's breaths were coming in short rasps. He thought it could be his asthma acting up, but he doubted it seeing as he hadn't been very physically active in the last hour. Flopping on his back, he grabbed his head and groaned, his headache was getting progressively worse. _Shouldn't help be on the way?_

Now his stomach and face seemed to be on fire. Freddie twisted on his side, clutching his abdomen. _What the bloody hell was going on?_

Off in the distance, Freddie heard a muffled clopping sound along with loads of footsteps. He couldn't make out individual people; his vision was spinning too much.

Suddenly, Chiron's face appeared above Freddie's along with a few others.

"We need to get him to the infirmary," Chiron said to a kid near him, "and fast. We need a healer from Apollo, too. Hurry!" The kid ran off. "Get a stretcher over here!"

Two other kids ran up and set the stretcher beside Freddie then proceeded to move him onto it.

By now, the burning in Freddie's face and stomach had subsided, but was replaced with an uncomfortable numbness in his face and mouth. He literally could not feel a thing there.

As Freddie was being carried out of the woods on a stretcher, he began to lose consciousness.

"Chiron!" The kid carrying the back of the stretcher shouted. "We're losing him!"

"Let him be," Chiron said calmly, "he needs his sleep."

And with that, Freddie drifted off into the land of nothing, his head swimming with questions.

* * *

**What'd you think? I'm super curious to know how it's going so far! (And take it easy on me, please. That was my first fight-ish scene) Feel free to leave suggestions and constructive criticism! Please favorite, follow, and review! (I don't know when my next update will be because I'm gonna be at camp soon so I don't know)**

**~soccerfreak6424**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Woo! Another update! Thanks to the five or so people that reviewed! (Not much, but progress is progress)**

**Please favorite, follow, and review! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Freddie wished he could go back in time and build an invisibility jacket to hide him from all the worried glances of his friends. No, better yet, he'd have his friend from the Hephaestus cabin, Isaiah Dempsey, build him one. Well, technically Isaiah wasn't his friend, but Isaiah owed Freddie a big favor because Freddie saved him big time during capture the flag a little bit ago (long story).

Anyway, when Freddie came to, he was greeted by thousands of concerned faces (okay, maybe not thousands, but his double vision was pretty bad). He couldn't see anything around the myriad of faces, but he guessed he was in the infirmary. He felt like his head had been stuck in an oven then freeze dried. He could hear nothing but a loud ringing in his ears. He had an awful headache and his limbs were completely numb.

As soon as the people in the infirmary noticed that Freddie was awake, they staggered back in surprise. Someone stumbled, smacking someone else in the face. Freddie would've laughed if not for the uncomfortable ache in his stomach.

As the ringing in Freddie's ears subsided, the voices around him got louder. And louder. And louder. He wanted to clamp his hands over his ears to blot out the noise, but he couldn't seem to lift his fingers.

"Out!" A voice shouted. "Make way! Everyone back to your cabins!"

Freddie squinted in the harsh light of the fluorescent bulbs overhead. He could vaguely see a very short man with brown hair moving across the threshold toward him.

Most of the other people in the room had fled to the man's orders. The noise had lessened enough so that Freddie didn't feel like he wanted to tear his ears off. Now if only he could find a way to turn off the lights.

The man (that Freddie now realized was Chiron in his wheelchair) wheeled over to the side of Freddie's bed. "How are you feeling?"

Freddie tried to open his mouth to tell Chiron that he was feeling awful, but he couldn't seem to control his face at all (other than his eyes, of course). Instead, he just lay there (**sorry if this isn't correct grammar. I searched on Google, but it was all really confusing. Please correct me if I'm wrong)**, hoping Chiron would get the message.

"I see," Chiron said grimly.

_Could it be that bad?_ Freddie wondered. His already rasped breaths were becoming even more scratchy in panic. His eyes darted about the room.

Then, the door to the infirmary cracked open slowly.

A pair of blue eyes peeked through the crevice, as if asking if it was safe to enter.

Chiron nodded and a very good friend of Freddie's, Ian Davis, opened the door all the way and walked through.

* * *

Ian Davis walked into the infirmary cautiously; he didn't want to see one of his best friends in pain. Luckily, Freddie looked pretty okay to Ian (if you don't count the fact that he was covered in dirt, was as pale as a ghost, and had a multicolored bruise on his forehead).

After closing the door gently, Ian meandered his way over to the side of Freddie's bed that Chiron wasn't on.

When Freddie was unconscious, Ian had given him some nectar and ambrosia, but it didn't seem to have that much of an affect. (again with the grammar...) He had yet to attempt to use his healing powers.

Ian laid a hand on Freddie's shoulder. Now don't ask him how his powers worked because, honestly, he didn't have a clue. All hew knew was that his brain just suddenly filled with information (once you've been in a mythological world long enough, you learn to just go with it and not ask questions). Being a son of Apollo had its perks.

"Alright, let's see," Ian told Chiron. "Nausea, numbness, motor weakness, minor hypotension, dizziness, difficulty in breathing, and a headache."

Chiron nodded dejectedly. "Taylor should be here-"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the infirmary door slammed open.

Taylor Watson appeared in the doorway, out of breath. Her insanely curly red hair was falling out of its ponytail. She tucked a strand behind her ear.

Even though she was only fourteen, two years younger than Ian, she was about an inch taller, which bugged him to no end. Even though the two if them were more acquaintances than friends (Ian was way more extroverted), he saw her around camp from time to time and knew that the daughter of Athena was extremely smart.

"What'd I miss?" Taylor asked hurriedly.

Ian shrugged. "Oh, you know, Fredo over here is almost dead, but take your time."

Taylor looked slightly surprised that Ian would make such a remark, but quickly recovered and moved over beside the son of Apollo.

Ian then repeated Freddie's symptoms to Taylor, hoping she would have an answer.

Taylor nodded. "I've heard- or rather, read- of something like this before. An herb of some sort, maybe?"

Chiron nodded. "I was thinking... wolf's bane."

"Aconitum?" Taylor looked horrified. "The queen of poisons? I've read about that. The symptoms sound very similar." She turned to the boy in the bed. "Freddie? You didn't happen to eat a flower, did you?"

Chiron shook his head. "Apparently he can't talk."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ian put his hands in the 'time out' gesture. "What's going on?"

"Aconitum," Taylor explained, "is a poison that was commonly used in older times to kill wolves, hence the name wolf's bane. If more than a certain amount is ingested, the person dies within the hour. Apparently Freddie ingested less than that amount, seeing as he was unconscious for a little more than an hour."

"How would he have eaten a-cone-whatever in the middle of capture the flag?" Ian wondered.

"It's a flower," Chiron said, "and it grows in the north so it could've been growing in the forest. We need Herman Faletta and Mathias Grimm; they were there."

Taylor shifted uncomfortably. Obviously, she had the same opinions on Faletta as Ian did. Ian couldn't stand the guy. Faletta was all about rules. What Mr. Über Macho Tough Guy really needed was a massage so he could loosen up a little.

Then, the door burst open for a second time.

Ian smirked. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Grimm Reaper." Ian called to the one Ares camper that he could actually get along with.

"How's Freddie?" Mathias asked frantically. When his eyes landed on the boy in the bed, he blanched.

"He's good..." Ian started, then paused. "Actually, he's kind of bad..."

Chiron wheeled himself over to where Mathias was. "Did Freddie eat a flower of any sort when you were fighting?"

At first, Mathias looked confused, like '_why in the world would Freddie eat a flower in the middle of a battle?'_ Then his eyes lit up in understanding. "When Faletta pounded Freddie's helmet off, Freddie landed face-first in the dirt. I saw him spit out half a blue flower."

Chiron said something in Latin, then switched to English. "If my sources are correct, which I'm pretty sure they are, Freddie has until the end of next week to live."

* * *

**What'd you think? I really want your feedback! Please favorite, follow, review, and even recommend! Thanks for reading!**

**~soccerfreak6424**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! What's up? So this chapter should have a lot of answers in it. It's definitely not my favorite chapter ever, but I hope you like it! Also, thanks to the four people that reviewed! I greatly appreciate it.**

**The Gentleman Ghost: You're right. Chiron is Greek, but remember in The Lost Hero when he spoke Latin to Jason? Well, in my story he used Latin because he didn't want the children in the room to hear him (*cough* cursing *cough*). Thanks for pointing that out, though :)**

**Now on with the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 3

To say that Ian was in shock was an understatement. Freddie? One of his bros was going to die? That couldn't be possible. Not even a day ago Ian was playing and joking around with the Fredster and now he was lying on his death bed.

Mathias looked very grim. Get it? Grim? Mathias' last name is Grimm? Eh... never mind.

Across from Ian, Taylor's mouth had dropped in surprise. No doubt she was thinking about the abruptness of the situation.

Always looking on the logical side of things, she asked, "Haven't you given him some nectar or ambrosia?"

Chiron and Ian nodded simultaneously, but Chiron spoke first, "Ian gave him some, but it only seemed to slow down the process. If only we had the Fleece."

The Golden Fleece. Everyone knew the story, of course. Sixteen or so years ago, Percy Jackson and Clarisse La Rue saved Thalia's tree with it and eventually resurrected Thalia herself. Around thirteen years ago in the Giant War the Fleece was destroyed or something like that. Fortunately, it had been around Thalia's tree long enough so it didn't kill the tree or magical borders. If they had the Fleece now, they could easily use it to heal Freddie. Unfortunately, they didn't.

"Ian." Chiron looked at him with hope. "Your powers."

Ian perked up. He had totally forgotten about his healing powers! Wow, he was such an idiot.

Ian, once again, put his hand on Freddie's shoulder. Ian noticed the panicked look in Freddie's eyes and shot him a look, like '_after I heal you, we'll bedazzle the Nemesis cabin, ok?_' Freddie's look softened a tiny bit.

Ian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth and, in a low voice, sung the song. Under different circumstances, it would've been really awkward just bursting out in song when your friend's dying, but Ian knew that this song could save a life.

When the Ancient Greek healing song had finished, Ian opened his eyes.

Freddie's eyes were now closed, but Ian could sense that his headache has dissipated and he was now sleeping. Nothing more. Ian was shocked. His healing powers always worked! Maybe the intensity of the poison? Ian was the most skilled healer at camp; if he couldn't heal Freddie, no one could.

Ian was outraged. How would they save Freddie now? There was nothing they could do but sit there and watch him die. Wow, that sounded really depressing. Ian needed a pick-me-up. But apparently he didn't have enough luck on his side because just then, Eleanor Silvan and Herman Faletta burst through the door.

El Silvan had a concerned look in her usually mischievous dark brown eyes. Leaves were tangled in her shoulder-length black hair. She was carrying what looked like a canvas. Next to her, Faletta looked the same as ever: Evil.

"Chiron... Rachel... Idiot-" El was out of breath and looked about ready to have a panic attack.

"Whoa. Calm down." Chiron put on a soothing voice. "Start at the beginning."

El took a deep breath. "Okay, so, I was walking back to the Nemesis cabin to get some shut eye when this _idiot_ pushed me flat on my face!"

Faletta looked murderous. "I never pushed you. And I'm not an idiot."

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you an idiot." El paused. "I thought you already knew."

Ian snickered. He loved when El pushed people around. It was hilariously awesome.

"El," Chiron warned.

"Oh, right," El said, continuing her explanation, "After this moron pushed me, Rachel tripped over my ankle. Speaking of which, I'm going to get a bruise there. Anyway, she dropped this painting-" she held out the canvas, but Ian couldn't see what was on it, "-and said she was in a hurry. The next thing Faletta and I knew, there was green mist everywhere and Rachel's voice got really trippy. She started saying weird stuff. Then she passed out. We brought her up to the porch."

Chiron looked really nervous. "Do you remember what she said?"

"Well, yeah, but-" El started.

"Call a counsel meeting. Now."

El nodded, gave the canvas to Chiron, and quickly ran off to alert the other cabin counselors, Faletta and Taylor hot on her tail.

* * *

Seated around the Ping-Pong table were all twenty cabin counselors. How they managed to squeeze everyone in was a mystery to Ian. He looked around the table and noticed a few familiar faces: Isaiah Dempsey from Hephaestus, Kori James from Iris, Summer Walmsley from Hecate, Maia Jonstone from Hermes (she was filling in for Freddie), and, of course, Taylor from Athena, Faletta from Ares, El from Nemesis, and me for Apollo.

"Alright," Chiron called, bringing everyone to order. "Now, El, would you tell us exactly what Rachel said?"

El nodded. "Um, she said something along the lines of:

_Five shall go west to the land without rain._

_In the valley of death, the two-headed serpent must be slain._

_Two shall be lost along the path,_

_But one shall be cured with the serpent's back._"

Chiron's eyes got wide. "A prophecy."

Immediately, pandemonium **(anyone a fan of the Mortal Instruments?) **broke out. Ian stared at Chiron, unable to comprehend anything. A prophecy? Didn't the last two prophecies almost destroy the whole world?

"Does this prophecy have to do with Freddie?" Maia asked, concerned for her brother.

Taylor piped up. "_One shall be cured_. Freddie definitely needs curing."

"What about the two-headed serpent?" Summer asked, nervously.

"I have a guess," Taylor said, softly. "Nehebkau was a two-headed snake that guarded the Duat, the Egyptian underworld, but that's Egyptian mythology so I doubt that's what the prophecy's talking about. In Greek stories, a two-headed serpent called the Amphisbaena was created from the blood that dripped from Medusa's head when Perseus flew over the Libyan desert."

Chrion nodded. "She's right. Rachel painted this as well." He held up the canvas El had given him earlier. It was a picture of a snakelike thing, but this was no normal snake. This serpent actually had a head coming out of its butt. Not exactly what Ian pictured the two-headed snake would look like.

"There's one _tiny_ problem, though," El pointed out. "The Libyan desert's in Libya."

Chiron held up his hand. "Ah, but it shifted to follow the heart of western civilization. The Amphisbaena is now in the United States."

"The valley of death," Isaiah confirmed. "Death Valley. No way."

"What's this got to do with Freddie?" Someone asked.

"The Amphisbaena has healing powers," Taylor responded. "We could use its skin to heal Freddie."

"That's awesome! But _two shall be lost_?" Summer asked worriedly. "I don't like the sound of that."

"There will be deaths." Chiron nodded dejectedly. "The last time five went..."

He was right, of course. The last time five people went, two had died along the way. This quest seemed no different.

Ian felt the need to put his thoughts into action, "That's great, but who's going?"

Everyone stared at him as if he'd just dropped in from Mars. He wasn't at all phased by it, though.

"Well," Ian continued, "it says _five shall go west, _so who's the five?"

There was dead silence in the room. Then Isaiah Dempsey stood up. "I have a debt to pay. Freddie saved my life, so I'll help save his."

Ian gathered up his wits. He had to do this. "I'll go. Freddie's my BFFL. I can't let him down. Oh, and by the way, if Freddie wakes up soon, don't tell him about the quest. He hates when people do stuff for him."

Chiron nodded. "Yes, I think that's best. Who else?"

Then, Taylor stood up hesitantly. "It might be nice if you guys actually knew what you were doing. That's why I need to go."

Wow, this is actually going fairly smoothly, Ian thought. But his high hopes were spoiled when Faletta stood up.

"I'm going." Faletta said. "So I can prove that, unlike some people" (he glared pointedly at El who rolled her eyes) "I actually have a purpose in this world."

El bolted up out of her chair. "I have a purpose! Even a rock could've figured that out."

"Prove it." Faletta said plainly.

"Huh?"

"Prove that you're actually useful. Come with."

"Fine!" El plopped back down in her chair and crossed her arms defiantly.

The rest of the people around the table were watching the two with amused expressions on their faces.

"Alright," Chiron announced, snapping everyone's attention back to him, "the five are chosen: Ian Davis will lead Taylor Watson, Isaiah Dempsey, Herman Faletta, and Eleanor Silvan in a quest to save Fredrick Knox. Get some rest. You five will leave at dawn tomorrow."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review!**

**And take it easy on me. That was my first prophecy-ish thing, so yeah...**

**Also, to the owners of the OCs: if your character seems OOC, don't hesitate to correct me!**

**By the way, I'm changing my pen name to burritolicious :D**

**~burritolicious**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Long time no post, huh? Sorry about that! It's way past the time I should be up so forgive me if things don't make sense or there are many error (please let me know)! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4

In a way, you could say that Taylor Watson had a disadvantage when it came to the other four questers. She had no special powers—she couldn't heal people with a touch, see the future, or anything like that. And she definitely couldn't charm her way through a situation or get the popular vote.

But, in other ways, Taylor might have a great advantage—greater than powers or strength or beauty. She had her mind.

Brains before brawns, she always said.

And that's what got her through camp life (well, most of the time, anyway). What good was fighting a monster that you didn't know the weaknesses for, and therefor, couldn't kill? You'd get _yourself_ killed instead.

But, in all actuality, Taylor was nervous—no, _beyond_ nervous for this quest. She should be the confident, smart, tough-as-nails daughter of Athena that was going to _rule_ this quest. But she just felt plain scared. So many what-ifs were coursing through her mind that she couldn't seem to fall asleep that night. The Night Before the Quest. She should write a book.

Taylor knew she needed sleep—heck, she _wanted_ sleep, but she just couldn't seem to do it. It's like when she was a kid. On Christmas Eve, her (adopted) mother would always send her off to bed extra early because she new Taylor wouldn't get any sleep anyway. And Taylor didn't—she'd stay up all night, maybe sleep for an hour or two, then get up super early and go jump on her mom's bed. Only this time, she wouldn't be getting presents in the morning. Unless you counted embarking-on-a-super-dangerous-quest-with-four-peo ple-you-barely-knew-to-save-your-dying-friend-wher e-two-of-you-were-most-likely-going-to-get-killed as a present, which Taylor obviously didn't.

When she finally drifted off, she had a nightmare. She usually had nightmares when she got nervous, but that didn't happen too often.

When the dream started, Taylor was standing in a classroom in front of a bunch of kids from her old school. The kids were yelling taunts at her and throwing their things at her—Lunchables mini hot dogs, pencils, even a binder was tossed her way.

She tried to tune out the insults, but many got under her skin. That's what she hated about dreams—they had access to the deepest recesses of your mind and you couldn't hide anything from them.

She heard things like: "I bet your dad was a drunk and your mom was a stripper! Ha! No wonder they didn't want you!" and "Come one, _Merida_, tell us the answer then if you're so smart!"

But Taylor didn't know the question, and, even if she did, the dream made her ability to think clearly become nonexistent.

When she didn't answer, her classmates laughed, like straight out _guffawed_, called her some bad names (that all had the word 'dumb' in them), and threw more stuff.

Then Taylor spotted someone in the back of the crowd, also yelling taunts at her. It was her best mortal friend in the world, and she was laughing along with everyone else, a ready-to-chuck-at-Taylor ruler in her hand. If there was anything Taylor hated more than public humiliation, it was losing her friends. And this friend was definitely lost.

Taylor had finally lost it. She ran out of the room crying and clutching the spot on her forehead where someone's apple had made contact, but the students followed.

They made it into a hallway, but the dream wasn't finished just yet.

The kid's eyes, nostrils, and mouths turned into gaping black holes and out crawled something that was even worse than public embarrassment or losing a friend. _Spiders_.

Taylor knew this was coming even with her impaired thinking, but she still wasn't ready for it.

Spiders encased her body like tomb. They were biting her ankles, her face, her arms… everything. She lie face down on the hard tile of the hallway, sobbing her eyes out.

And the nightmare ended. Just like that. It reminded her of a book she read about fear simulations.

Taylor was sobbing soundlessly on the soft, yet uncomfortable rug underneath her bed. Thank goodness she was on the bottom bunk or that fall would've been _bad_.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and wiped her eyes. _It was just a dream it was just a dream it was just a dream. _She controlled her sobs until they were merely sniffles and climbed back into her bed.

From what she could see from the growing light of morning outside, no one had awoken from her sleeplessness. She was glad. She didn't want people to lose sleep over her, especially her siblings.

Taylor decided not to try to go back to sleep—it would only make things worse—so she touched her toes softly on the ground so the wood flooring wouldn't creak. She eased herself off of the bed and walked cautiously around to the foot of her bunk where her backpack lay. She double-checked all of her supplies, which didn't take long because she wasn't going to bring much, just the essentials.

She figured she probably had an hour before she had to be at the top of Half-Blood Hill, so she went to the bathroom and started getting ready which didn't help her nerves.

She threw on dark-wash jeans with holes in the knees, gray Converse, and a shirt with a picture of a pipe and a caption that read: _Leci est une pipe_. She loved this shirt because a character wore it in her favorite book and Taylor felt that if she wore it, she'd be sharing an inside joke with the character. She was nerdy in that way.

By the time she had finished, almost everyone in her cabin was up and moving around. Most wished her luck and told her to be wise. Like she wouldn't. Taylor was too stubborn for that.

As she made her way out the door and across camp, many people gave her sympathetic looks. Taylor hated being the center of attention, but she was glad people actually cared about her.

* * *

**So, what did you guys think? Although this was more of a filler chapter, I thought it brought me closer to Taylor as a character and made me feel sympathy toward her and I related pretty well and I think that was the purpose of this chapter. Sorry if you didn't like it! Also, I know it wasn't very long, but I NEED TO SLEEP! Please favorite, follow, and review! Thank you guys so much!**

**~burritolicious**


End file.
